An Egyptian artist performs a traditional folk dance to welcome Chinese tourists at the Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt, January 20, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

With outbound tour group services set to resume on February 6, travel agencies are seeing strong demand for the tours and there has been a sharp increase in the number of passport applications.

Recently, many people have been applying for passports in the reception halls of exit and entry administration bureaus across the country, with the number of visa inquiries on various travel platforms also rising steeply.

A staff member from the National Immigration Administration service platform told the Global Times on Friday that more people have been coming to apply or renew their passports recently.

On the official WeChat account of the Exit-Entry Administration of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau on Friday, it mentions the strong current demand for entry and exit documents. "Recently, there are more people in the Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang, Haidian and Fengtai halls, with longer waiting times, so it is recommended to choose peripheral acceptance sites to submit applications," it says.

As of press time, all of the application sites for general passports in Chaoyang district were full from Friday to February 8.

In addition to the lively scenarios in the reception halls of the exit and entry administration bureaus, the number of visa inquiries on various travel platforms has also soared. According to Qunar.com, as of January 30, the visa business search volume was up nearly three times compared to December 2022. The most popular tours were to Phuket, Bangkok and Pattaya, it said.

Domestic travel agencies will resume outbound group tours to 20 countries on a trial basis from February 6, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on January 20. Companies can release and launch products and promotions or undertake other preparations starting on the same day.

After the announcement, a number of tourism companies began making preparations for outbound trips.

"The day after the notice was issued, we launched related tourism products that cover the 20 countries involved and other destinations. Moreover, during the Spring Festival, we asked a number of foreign ambassadors and officials from foreign tourism departments to send New Year's wishes to the Chinese people and invite them to visit. This boosted confidence in tourism," Xu Xiaolei, marketing manager at CYTS Tours, told the Global Times on Friday.

Xu noted that among the products the company has launched, consumers prefer trips to Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

Data from Trip.com showed that during the Spring Festival holidays, the search volume for outbound group products rose three times, with users registering for products involving 11 destination cities in eight countries including Thailand and the Maldives.

"These countries are mostly the traditional travel destinations. Moreover, they have easy entry procedures and a friendly attitude toward Chinese tourists," Xu noted.

Regarding the rebound in this year's outbound tourism market, Xu said that consumers, companies and authorities all have high expectations for outbound travel.

Xu predicted a rebound during the summer travel peak and around the National Day holidays, saying the number of cross-border trips is expected to return to the 2019 level.

"The industry should maintain a cautiously optimistic approach, as there are still some uncertainties including a disrupted overseas service chain, the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical crises," the expert continued.

Global Times